We ran down a rabbit in the tall grass

It's been a busy summer. Lots of hot weather, lots going on- water skiing, relatives visiting, activities - and now the kids are going back to school. It's only mid-August, so summer isn't over yet - it's a bittersweet feeling to think the kids could still be out playing, yet kind of a relief that they are now occupied and out of sight - I was waiting for this day, and yet summer is gone in a flash.

I'd like to write about going to a great World War II museum in Auburn Indiana, or talk about standing under the large bronze horse statue of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne in downtown Fort Wayne, but I won't today. I need a day to reflect about the passage of time, kids growing up, and the river of change. One child's last year to be at an elementary school. Weren't they just getting dropped off at the pre-school door?

There was a summer when the now-teenager was about seven - maybe a little older or younger, but fairly little -and she was fast, like a flying bug. That kind of right-out-of-the-blocks quick as a kid can be, without all the size to slow down the initial inertia. She could take off like a shot, feet flying.

One day little Sammy (nickname) and I were walking in the tall grass on the property, where there was just a travel trailer and a sandy beach in rural Noble County, Indiana. I don't know now where we were going, but we startled up a juvenile rabbit, probably out from under the travel trailer. It wasn't a baby, it was fast, and it took off running. Sammy and I made eye contact and without a word, we took off after it.

We didn't both get right behind it - it would've been too fast for that. We separated slightly - I turned slightly downhill, and Sammy took off faster on the high side, flanking it. And in a second or two, I yelled "turn it," and she did, herding it, if you will, right towards me. And without thinking, without talking, I pounced on it - I grabbed it. There would have been no hesitant-picking-it-up. I came down around it fingers, legs, and all, and grabbed it up firmly in my hands.

It was a cute little wild grey rabbit, trembling, wide-eyed, but it didn't bite. We held it, and looked at it, and took it to show other kids around - and then let it go. When it finally ran away, it took off under the grass, very fast, and disappeared. But it had been very soft, and its heart beat rapidly, and we were thrilled and proud we had caught it. How did we know what to do, and why had we wordlessly decided to chase it? I don't know, but that incident is burned into my memory. As my child gets older and transitions into those teenage years, I think I'll always remember the teamwork we had in the tall grass that day, and a summer memory for us both, to keep for the ages. I hope you have a wonderful day, and a good memory of your own.